How Cliché
by B0unty Hunter
Summary: Amu finds a diary that encloses the writing of a young girl about her crush for the same boy that Amu likes; Ikuto Tsukiyomi, except 9 years longer. Filled with guilt, Amu rejects Ikuto's confession. Now two years later, how will he react? TAKEN DOWN FOR EDITING
1. Chapter 1

_I uploaded this yesterday but I decided to make it longer_

_Thanks to XxChopSueyxX for the favorite/follow_

_Thanks for Blu2012 who reviewed and for the edit! My brain was definitely out of it when I wrote it._

_EDITED: Aug 4_

Chapter 1

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**The New Student**

* * *

"We have a new student!" _Oh boy_, you, as a reader, go whether from excitement or exasperation. The line looked much too familiar. Another one of those? Amu or Ikuto the new student arrives with a icicle facade but in the course of time, the wonderful heartwarming love succeed melting it. Amu, of course, has to start off by hating Ikuto in the beginning and Ikuto can not seriously hate her back and not the other way around because if _she's _the one desperately trying to get Ikuto then...well, she's desperate. Bad example for little girls, you see?

Let's skip a few days. After all the first days aren't very interesting. The students who have been around here for too long bombard with questions, quite eager to know what the outside world is like:

"Have you been to Disney Land when you were in America?"

"You look athletic. Do you play football? Like legit football?"

"Can you use chopsticks? Have you used bowls before?"

Also, the teacher, who is quickly getting tired of the new student like a dog getting tired with their toy, tries to shove all the past work at once without even checking if they actually have all the paper, making wonderful first impressions during the argumentative parent meetings.

Then, by the end of the week, even if the student is in a hip deep quicksand of stress, they're camouflaged in the school. They're no longer the fresh and ripe person that everyone is interested in but just another ordinary carrot added to the vast field.

During a Tuesday, at around 2:15, specifically at English class, sat two very well-known students. A boy and a girl. As table partners smack at the middle of the first row, they took detailed notes and were very polite to each other. In fact, their short conversation were completely of the ordinary:

"Can you pass me that pencil, Tsukiyomi?"

"Okay, Hinamori."

"Thanks." she would say the millionth time with raised eyebrows.

"No problem," he would reply the millionth time without a glance.

No teasing. No swearing. And absolutely no blushing.

Generally this is what teachers who don't want to deal with trouble want. They want the class to be nice and quiet while he or she talks and prefer not to have to deal with those that are loud and swears as stereotypically, they're the ones that stop the poor teachers from going home.

But in this case, it was probably _because_ how ordinary it was that caused the teacher to pause in a middle of a word to occasionally glance at them nervously, slurring while they're at it. It was very obvious that despite the light voices and the polite exchange of words, the table partners consisted of a girl and a boy, trying very hard, blood and sweat, to pretend that they can stand each other. When bell rang, they were same pole magnets that shot in opposite directions as the tension was released.

Speaking of magnets, despite of reacting the same when facing each other, when it came to people, it was very different.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi, as his full name happened to be, was described as perfect in many stories. He was pretty much the dream guy that everyone wanted. He _obviously_ had to attract almost all the girls in the school. Realistically, it wouldn't even be possible but the author, being lazy doesn't consider theses obsessed fangirls as humans. Case closed. While boys, though many hate him, can't help but feel somewhat jealous and admire his natural skill as most need to practice in front of the mirror before turning to face a girl. Fanclub wise he is often compared to Tadase Hotori, who is number 1 in the school when it comes to academics and famous for his bunny cuteness as Ikuto for being sexy. Ikuto wasn't a star athlete as many fangirls fathom to be but his excellent balance and raw speed which most sports needed, was taken with exaggeration. But being the "perfect guy in school" is far of what one would like to expect. It was a heavy almost invisible burden to shoulder, especially when the person themselves know quite well it was very far from the truth.

Amu Hinamori, however was the North pole if everyone was the South. Or vice versa. She'd have many people whisper and look at her with awe but when she turned to give them a curious glance they'd give a small, "eep!" from surprise and run away like pigeons, with their coats flapping behind them. But before you have that sort of familiar pity reserved for fanfic moments like this, believe it or not, it was something that she seriously preferred. Really. The stress of answering questions and dealing with their fascination did not sound ideal.

It so happened that these two populars, Amu Hinamori and Ikuto Tsukiyomi had known each other before their senior year. In fact Ikuto had even confessed to her during the summer before tenth grade, something that can not be imagined by their fans in the current timeline. But as Amu would put it, Ikuto seemed different. He seemed familiar, not just a random guy off the street, making the whole who-the-hell-are-you? go faster. Pehaps a too skeptical teenage-y response?

"Basta! What does the young know about love?" demands an old woman across the street, flapping her peacock feathered hat angrily.

Amu was and still is in a major crush with the all popular Ikuto Tsukiyomi. But once upon a time, just before their two year separation, when Ikuto told her his liking to her, she didn't say anything, or more accurately she couldn't and during those two short years, she was erased from Ikuto's heart and mind with no chance of getting them back.

* * *

Her next door neighbor, Kukai Souma was moving and having a garage sale during that summer. Unfortunately for them, absolutely no one bought anything, but yet the shoppers can't be blamed._ Everything_, and I mean everything, was beat-up. Some visitors misunderstood, thinking that the parents were just selling "hand-me-downs" and walked off angrily, muttering something about pride. The Souma household consisted of 5 rough, sporty boys. By the time each were 4, they were sure to be one of the "Souma boys" by breaking their sixth vase with a baseball bat.

Anyways, Mrs. Hinamori, who was being resourceful, as she had calculated last night of the college tuition that was soon to come, decided to check out their cheap things. She got extra discount for being their neighbor and in twenty minutes flat she set down a large cardboard box in Amu's room.

"The next door neighbor had a garage sale. You can check the general school supplies out, but you better make sure," her mother said shortly and walked away. Rather reluctantly, Amu set aside some of the boxes of pencils, she came upon a notebook buried under them, far from what she had every expected from a notebook.

Pink.

Frilly.

Flying Strawberries.

Her heart skipped a beat. How long has it been since she has even held one of these? She quickly looked around her room. She was "cool n' spicy" at school. She had to love black and red and ignore her inner urges to hug stuffed pandas that her peers occasionally bring .

But right now she was alone. Amu eagerly opened it, only to be warned with highlighters and sparkling purple pens. Very threatening.

DO NOT REED! OR YOU WILL KIL THE CATIPLAR! DO NOT REED!

She looked at the end of the page and saw a blob with a smiley face. Apparently this was a "catiplar". Amu looked at the left, the cover back and just a she expected, she saw a "squished" blob. Amu paused for moment, trying to remember if the Souma household had any girls.

Her mother must've mistaken the notebook for a clean one.

It wasn't hard to realize that this was a diary. Amu understood very well about privacy but the dog-flapped page just egged her on. Let's admit it, children notebooks are quite fun to read. When she finally brought herself to flip the page over, she immediately noticed the handwriting was quite different than the cover, much more messy and curvy. It also had been cut unevenly from some other notebook and pasted hastily on to the page. But she decided to ignore this. Don't fear, the first few entries shall be translated into Modern English..which I'm sure you'd rather read.

_Journal,_

_The boy from my neighborhood is in my summer class too. He sits in front of me. He is cute._

_Journal,_

_I cut a strand of hair from that boy with my scissors. He didn't notice. I put it inside my pillow. I wonder if a wish will come true._

Amu skipped a few pages, only to see "that boy" or "the boy from my neighborhood" pop up frequently. The date became more and more distant.

_Journal,_

_He has great grades in the class. But I want to go to the same school as him. I won't lose_

Until finally there was a eight year jump from the last, which thankfully doesn't need any translation.

-_To my future self,_

_I don't know how I will be end up from the surgery. The doctor said that my memories may become blurry and that some may never be retrieved again. The boy still lives in my neighborhood, and goes to the same school. I may have triggered some memories, but the fact that I had came to the last entry, it probably means I have not. Being pathetic, I have not told my feelings. The moment when I/you remember, confess immediately. Ten years have already passed by and if my parent's dream comes true, I'll be moving overseas almost right after. A lot of the things about him is in here._

_The name is Ikuto Tsukiyomi_

The book slid_ o_ut of her fingers and dropped to the ground with a thunk. Horror swept through the young reader's body.

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**End**

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FIRST STORY! This is probably going to be a multi-chapter story. Tell me ASAP if I made any mistakes. What are your opinions overall? How is my writing? Who do you think the new student is? **Please review! This is also kinda important. Would you prefer to read a longer chapter (1500+) or shorter chapters? (800-1400) in the future [this was 1800 btw]? **


	2. Chapter 2

_Aug 4: I really would like to apologize to those who have read the three original chapters and Blessed by a Curse. I had first thought of this as a kind of a "exercise story" but when I had finished writing the first few chapters of BBC, I've been told multiple times (thanks to my yearbook friends who had nothing better to do ;D) that it was very similar to this story. So I decided (since people seemed to favor this one more) that I would re-write this to be a longer (20+ chapters) story, instead of ramming my head to the wall. I will definitely put the original two chapters up at the very end for those who wanted to read it. I'm combining the stories so they might sound quite familiar in the beginning. I did combine some paragraphs for chapter 1 but the majority is the same. The ending will NOT be the same as the original. Sorry._

Chapter 2

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**FATE and the Childhood Memento.**

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_Ikuto Tsukiyomi._

The name ricocheted painfully in her head. Hopefully, you won't think what Amu did next was too ridiculous. She snapped the book shut and cried her eyes out. She wasn't a sucker for childhood stories or long lost love but the horrifying decision to not reply, to not answer what she wanted to say was torturous all the same.

"_Isn't it obvious? I like you of course."_

Now as readers, it wouldn't be strange to take a sip from that caffeinated tea of yours and say in a Naruto (determined, dramatic) fashion, "aren't you giving up too easily?! All is fair in love and war!"

But even though Amu would have loved to agree and stand up confidently amongst the enemies that may come by, she wasn't exactly a crazy assassin, nor was she a cut-throat businessman (or woman in this case), determined to get her way. Sure it wasn't unfair for her to answer his confession but she wouldn't be able to look at him without guilt. Guilt that she had taken someone precious full knowing that she did. At least the writer didn't know.

Amu flipped the pink book upside down and flipped a few pages. Amu noticed (after two hours of wailing) that there was no sign of who wrote it. There wasn't even something like "From, Jane" or "Love, Cutie" anywhere in the entries. As she tossed it back to the beginning of the page, she saw in very light words: KID.

After futile questions to Kukai, who hardly knew what came in and out of the house, she eventually gave up. She and Ikuto went in different directions without a proper good-bye. But somehow, just when Amu had convinced she'll never see Ikuto again, they winded up at the same school for their last year of high school.

* * *

"You smell like vanilla," Amu's mother noted with a sniff as her daughter arrived home a little bit later than usual.

"Do I?" was all what Amu said before stomping up the stairs.

The day had been a very long one. Special thanks to Saaya Yamabuki.

She was quite commanding and bullied others to do what she didn't want to do. Yet, no one could actually blame her because she had gotten high marks on her test and her parents had given a large amount of donation.

It was during lunch time when, she wanted to gather some followers. She would walk class to class introducing herself to a student she recognized (as if they didn't know), and demanding dramatically he/she to be her follower with a microphone that Amu strongly suspect that Saaya was unaware that it was broken. The answer was always a downright no. Even the obsessed robotic fangirls had the brains to do that.

But even with the microphone broken, Saaya was loud and obnoxious enough to be heard from the other side of her school. So it was no surprise when Amu looked up from her bento to see a red headed girl. Amu waited. She expected the usual singing and screaming and boasting that she had heard from the distance.

What she didn't expect was being sprayed with a vanilla scented perfume as if it was bug spray and she was the cockroach that Saaya was trying to get rid of. Don't get the wrong idea. I say vanilla but it's not the kind that you would put in a cake. It was the suffocating, thick smell that made one feel as if they were currently severely carsick and it would have been very humanly to start puking. Amu, fortunately saved us the graphic detail however as she was able to just turn away, pinching her nose, saving her eyes and from swallowing too much but still left a very unpleasant aftertaste in her mouth. Saaya was gone by the time she turned back. Great impression, indeed. She hardly had time to ponder of Saaya's sudden attack when the lunch bell rang.

After finishing her homework, she looked up at the ceiling as she laid in bed, rather dazed. She could still make out the trace of the awful smell. She scrunched her nose.

Amu pulled up her pajama sleeve to glance at what seemed like a flimsy, poorly made friendship bracelet tangled with black and brown strings. They were so worn out that they had to be taped multiple times.

Truthfully, Amu had been ecstatic when she saw the blur of midnight blue on the first day of school._ It was fate._ That seemed to be the only way to explain their unexpected reunion. She had actually been the one approach him.

But that cold look. The distant eyes of bare recognition. She couldn't forget even if she tried. It was all that took to shut her up. However the bracelet reminded her of a forgotten promise. It was a stupid one and it made her feel like one of those pathetic damsel in distress but she needed _something_ to connect back with him. At least for mentality sake. And today, it happened to be what he said after her disappointed answer.

"I'll wait for you. Always."

* * *

"Meow!" it yowled some more. The piercing green eyes looked right and left, refusing to move. The cat had a talent for making itself look pitifully hopeless. Amu, who didn't like heights, looked at the branch 10 feet off the ground before looking at her own feet which were comfortably on the gentle grass. Amu sighed.

She didn't think a trip to the grocery would lead to this but she wasn't just about to leave a helpless cat on its own.

But there was one small problem that Amu carelessly had forgotten: she's never climbed a tree before nor physically strong. She started to freak out as she clung the nearest branch for dear life. Perhaps this is what the cat felt.

Surprisingly though, Amu managed to get on a firm branch just a foot or two away from the black cat's one. She aimed for another, just a inch away from her...

CRACK!

Amu's heart dropped. Falling through the small flying leaves, she promised herself that if she ever lived through this she wouldn't have strawberry ice cream for three weeks. Then suddenly, a mysterious tall and lanky shadow swooped by and grabbed her and they immediately crash into a unseen trunk and die-

Crap! Deleted draft. Ahem.

She started to freak out. Just looking down made her feel like she was stuck in a 100 foot ravine, when in reality her feet was dangling about three feet from the grass. She froze. She could see clear as day despite of it being evening, the splintering branch that she was holding on to, was slowly snapping from her weight. I believe it's about this moment-?

Unfortunately no, there was no tall and lanky savior swinging like Tarzan to save Amu as her branch gave a terrifying noise. But looking at the bright side, she won't slamming into unseen trunks anytime soon.

Amu's heart dropped as she crashed like a piece of metal with a loud thunk, amazingly head first. The last thing she remembered was watching the fading black cat gracefully leap to the ground with no injuries. It wore a very familiar smirk.

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As always, tell me any mistakes I made. I'm usually quite clumsy and I've just began writing stories like these. Also please tell me your opinions! They mean a LOT to me and help me decide where I should turn. What was good about it? Bad? For previous chapters, do you like this one or the last one better?


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